from Hacker News

For Maximum EV Efficiency, Stick to 25 Miles an Hour, Ignore Angry Drivers

by mcone on 1/18/22, 7:17 PM with 3 comments

• by meristohm on 1/18/22, 7:38 PM

  Seems fine, though the sweet spot between friction with the road and with the air is in the 40-50 mph range, as I understand it. Because the lifetime costs of cars are so high and difficult to quantify (my feeling is that shedding tires all over the land, and pollutants into the air, and mining the materials is not worth the benefits if we care about the survival and existence story of life on earth for the next thousands of years, at least), I’d rather go back to mostly using animal power (ourselves and other animals, and not using horseshoes or hard paved roads, and keeping communities small, and being okay with not having everything we want) along with maybe trains, and some aircraft, for emergencies. If we mostly moved under our own power, and had healthier relationships with the land, I’m guessing medevacs would be rare.

  I accept that the situation we’re in is a hyperobject. Mostly I’m feeling frustrated; seems like we’ve pulled out too many control rods.

• by PaulHoule on 1/18/22, 7:38 PM

  I practice something I call "shapeshifting" where I overlay my avatar in the physical world with something or somebody else. It is something I learned on my own and haven't seen a lot of literature on it.

  I did it seriously around 2008, then fell out of it. In an emergency situation a few months ago I received a new character, and then last month I was so impressed by a movie character that the character came to me in a way that was intrusive and was remarkably ego-dystonic at first.

  This character has an extra time delay in social interactions which makes me a better listener, draws people out, and gives me a chance to make better decisions. When I am this character I find myself driving about 5 mph below the speed limit and boy it pisses people off.

• by LinuxBender on 1/18/22, 7:52 PM

  Ignore Angry Drivers

  That would not be your only issue. I am not a lawyer but in most of the United States there are laws regarding going under the speed limit as well. In most states hazard lights are required at more than 10 mph below the speed limit and one must pull over to let people pass when there are 5 or more cars behind them. The specifics vary from state to state. The ticket for not obeying this is in most cases a moving violation and that can affect your insurance rates and potentially your license. People should read up on the vehicle codes for their state.